Pond Boss Forums FISH & FISHING Sunfish-Including Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass LMB Spawn

Ok it looks like my LMB have finally pulled off a spawn as these are the first ones I have seen are caught since stocking my fish back on 12/2009.

Do you think these are from this year or could they be from last year?

Can you tell if these are Florida, Northern, or Hybrids?

Do they seem in good health?

Thanks

Last year. This year's at your location are no more than 3 inches +-.

Condition is fair to good. They look a little thin.

I can't tell LMB species/subspecies from pics very often.

If these are last years then I may be in for the LMB crowding issue then. I was hoping maybe they were from this year since it was so mild that maybe the LMB spawned early.

I bet next year I will have thousands of these little guys. Should I start pulling any of the LMB out yet or wait a year or so. I want to grow larger BG but also have to avoid a DO crash from all of the LMB. I also have way to many CC in this pond as well that could cause some issues.

I guess that is why the pond looks the color it does due to the CC as it used to be a pretty clear pond. Then again I do not have much vegetation or FA this year for some reason.

We are pulling out as many cats as we can but my daughter was only able to get 3 yesterday, and since I was helping her out I was not able to fish much to help hook any more. Then again it got hot way to quick so we had to leave.

Thanks

Now if I only new if these came from the fish I bought from Dunn's, the ones I caught from a creek, or some from another pond?

I only stocked 20 LMB in the 3-4 inch range and figured some of them may have been eaten by the adult GSF that were in the pond.

So to help with the GSF population I added some fish from two separate ponds and a creek. I believe I now have more than enough LMB but only time will tell.

Can someone tell me if I should start harvesting any of the LMB and if so how many a year?

Start tracking your forage, via trap and observation. If it appears to be disappearing especially in one size range or another you'll start to see a trend. From there you can remove LMB. You can also begin tracking the Wr of the bass you catch.

However, if larger bass are your goal, I'd remove all but the best preforming bass of each year class that you catch. The original stockers can stay, but any bass actually born in your pond can be removed except those that seem to have the best growth compared to others of the same age. This can get tricky though as the under preformers of one year class can overlap with the high performers of the following year class.

With my pond only being 1/4 acre I am sure large LMB are not an option. But would do better growing decent BG. Plus with all the CC in there I may not be able to do much but feed my family.

What would you recomend if I want to get my BG and HBG larger?

Only remove bass over 14".

What if there a CC and BCP in the pond as well? Should I keep any larger LMB in the pond or stay with the 14" fish?

Also should I consider adding some Pellet trained Northern Largemouth bass to add to the gene pool.

I am sure they would switch to feeding on BG quickly.

Or would I be better off getting some Florida or Tiger bass?

Another option would be to just pull some more from previous sources that are overcrowded ponds and a creek on my dads place.

Plus what size of LMB or whatever type is recommended should I add at this time?

Recommendations please.

Thanks

I am not a expert, but that many fish in a 1/4 acre pond might be too many. I don't think you are going to be able to grow really large LMB. Further, being able to keep your pond balanced is going to be very tricky.

In a 1/4 acre pond, you are only going to be able to have a few LMB ( I think the number is less than 10, maybe even 5).

CLB is right, track the forage fish, they are the backbone of your pond.

I was sold way to many fish for my pond as many have been before they found pond boss so I am just trying to make the best of it now. I am sure I will have to kill it off at some point and start over, but for now I am going to do what I can to get the best results that I can.

I think going forward I am going to keep just about every bass over 12-14 inches, all CC, all BCP, all HBG, all but the healthiest of BG.

This may help the pond out some, I guess we will just have to see, hope to make it out so I can post some pictures.

It is amazing what you can do with a few poles and a bucket of worms! I would release the best, largest LMB. Bob told me to use a slot limit. Any LMB under 14 inches is going to become diner!

Keeping a few CC in the pond is good as well, but limit your numbers. Bob says only put in what you want to take out as dinner each year.

The backbone of your pond is always going to be the BG, so track their recruitment as well and you are going to know how your pond is doing. I use fish trap 2.0 and 2.0 lite to track my pond.

Ance you have only the right number of the best LMB in your pond and ensure your BG are reproducing correctly, you will be on your way to a great pond.

Brian,
What is fish trap 2.0 and 2.0 lite?

The traps I built this year. Here are the links:


fish trap 2.0

Here is a link to the pictures of 2.0 lite being built.

pictures of fish traps being built

Both fish traps work well!

You think you could grow BG in something like that? I like this idea. How did you get the funnel to form?

I have been told that you can grow BG in a trap that size, I would build one bigger if I was going to use it as a grow out pen, say 6 feet by 4 feet by 2 feet.

As for the funnel, I use two pieces of netting and just push in an opening and cut off the extra on the outside of the cage, I use zip ties to "Lock in" the funnel's shape. I can also cut off the zip ties and "resize" the funnel any time I want and simply re-zip tie the opening at its new size.